After eating breakfast we got on the A1 to head towards Rome. The road was a fairly straight one, but I ended up having to put aside my work anyway because my stomach started grumbling at me. I got to see the roads this time. I got to see all of the olive orchards, the sheep in the fields, the almost sand-like dirt, and the plants that grew along the roads and how they looked incredibly similar to the plants that can be found in the south west. I wasn't cursing too loudly at my unyielding stomach.We got back to the Giocco, the hotel we'd stayed in the last time we were near Rome, and we put our things up in the same room. Almost immediately after we checked in and put our bags up we went back downstairs and asked the man at the desk where we needed to go to get a bus ticket and then a train ticket. He told us to go to the tobacco store, that the ticket would only last 45 minutes, and which buses we would have to watch for. We thanked him and went on our way. It did not take long for us to get the tickets, to catch the bus to the train station, and then to take the train in to Rome. It might've taken about 30-45 minutes total. The entire time I was watching the scenery, looking at the garbage that dotted the sidewalks and streets, admiring the trees and the countryside, watching the roads for crazy drivers, and (as always) enjoying the ride when we got on the bus and the train.
Our train stopped just outside the Piazza del Populo, where I got to use my navigation abilities to get us to the Spanish Steps. From the Piazza del Populo we had to take the farthest left fork. On this road we stopped in a local cafe to grab a quick bite and then we continued on our way, glancing in shop windows as we went. 
When we reached the Spanish Steps I wasn't surprised to find that they were jam packed with people. I also wasn't surprised to see that the entire right hand side was filled up with people. It was easy to see why people were preferring this side: it was in the shade. It was quite hot out and we got fairly sweaty walking up the steps (I no longer remember just how many there are). At the top I reread what Ahmee's book had to say about the Spanish Steps and I was happy to see that the Spanish Steps had once been known as the English Ghetto area, and that just at the bottom of the steps there was an older tea shop. Of course there was much more to the book, it would take too long to write it all. We didn't go to the tea shop, opting instead to navigate our way over to the Trevi Fountain which was a matter of blocks away. Again, I got to navigate. We didn't go too fast because Ahmee and I enjoyed looking in designer shops and at the many people. Even though we were distracted by what was going on around us it didn't make us loose our way. We got to the Trevi Fountain without any problems. 
In all of the movies the Trevi Fountain is the fountain that's famous for being the wishing well. You make a wish and you throw in a coin when you go to the Trevi Fountain. Something else that happens in the movies is that normally there aren't toooooo many people at the fountain when you throw your coin in. Yeah. Don't trust movies. 
When we got to the Trevi Fountain we found in jam packed with people (even though they were doing a bit of work on it with a crane), and that in order to get to a position where you could throw in a coin you had to elbow your way through a mob of people. We elbowed and excused ourselves through to the railing and then I got to throw a coin in to the Trevi Fountain. As we shoved our way away from the Trevi Fountain and towards the Pantheon I asked Ahmee why she didn't throw a coin in. She told me she'd already done it, and that she'd had her wish come true, that she had come back to Rome. As we walked through the streets towards the Pantheon I reflected on past movies where the heroin or hero had their wish come true from the one coin they threw into the Trevi Fountain.
I had never read anything about the Pantheon before in my life and I think that that's a shame. The Pantheon was a really interesting building. Before it had been a pagan temple, devoted to worshiping some odd amount of gods. Now it's one of the few round churches in Rome (perhaps there are more but I highly doubt that the round church is popular anywhere). Before we went in I read what Ahmee's book had to say about the Pantheon and then handed the book back over to Ahmee and Poppy so that they could read. I sat down and watched the scene that was going on outside the Pantheons front door. There were tourist groups, easily recognizable due to the clusters of people (some were even wearing the same color of hat or something), there were Roman soldiers (I suppose tour guides who're all dressed up), there were people riding through on their bicycles who were probably cursing at the blockade of people they had in front of them, there were a few pigeons resting just around the restaurants, there were people like me who were sitting and gawking, there were street entertainers (one of which I thought was very very good-he spun a ball on his nose just like a seal, and he juggled), and behind me there were a few drivers who were there one second and then gone the next (so not going to get a picture of the motorcyclists). 
After about five minutes of viewing the circus we headed in to a more solemn place. As we passed through the main entrance we squinted in at the dark, and then stepped in to a quieter and cooler place. I say quieter, but I do not mean that it was dead silent in this massive, circular room. There were people talking and pointing at various things within the Pantheon, people taking pictures, people walking and having their feet tap on the marble floor, and then there were a few people who nudged others into silence. Directly in front of the main entryway there stood the cross, the alter, and the benches. As we looked around the room at the statues, the ceiling (with a few windows blocked up), and the floor I got the distinct feeling that this building was meant to worship some sort of heavenly god since the building was round, their was a hole in the very center of the roof, and there was plenty of space for people to dance in. An old school video of Greece and how they worshiped their gods by dancing is what gave me this vision of toga-clad Romans dancing round and around this room. The circle is a moving thing, I'm glad that the Pantheon is so famous, otherwise it's current role as a church would be far too still for my liking. The tourists are what keep the motion going within the Pantheon now. 
We weren't in the Pantheon too long before we decided we needed to head out again towards the Roman Forum. The Roman Forum is situated on one of the largest streets in Rome and sits behind one of the biggest monuments I've ever seen in my life. Vittorio Emmanuel, the man who united Italy, has a building the size of St. Pauls Cathedral (in London) dedicated to him. Behind his massive structure is the Roman Forum, the ruin site the displays to the imaginative (or the well informed) the way life was lived in the days of Cesear and the Senators of the great Roman Empire. The idea when we walked in was to read what Ahmee's book said, walk around, soak it in, and then head over to the Colosseum (which was just behind the Roman Forum). After we got in to the Roman Forum we quickly flipped the book open to the correct page and started reading, some out loud, to each other. The book wasn't very descriptive and when we were done we were deliberating over which way to go and which way we should go if we wanted to head out towards the Colosseum. 
As we were talking a skinny woman clad in black asked us if we were from the South. When we said yes she said that the Southern people were just magic. After a few more questions she asked us if we would like a tour of the Roman Forum. Poppy was against it and started to move off while Ahmee was about to ask the price and while I wondered why we shouldn't. When she said that that was how she made her living was through the tours Ahmee asked what the price was and she told us, "Dirt cheap, 10 euros per person per hour." This was very true. 10 euros per person per hour is a real bargain when in Europe. Before she began talking about the forum she made sure to inform Poppy that he looked just like a Senator, a Roman Senator, and he also acted quite like one, that he was interested in the specifics and not interested in having his time wasted. Spot on, that assumption was. I won't go through everything Antionette (she told us her name afterwards) told us, it was too much to take in at once anyway. I'll simply say that it was a history of Italy, of Rome, of ideas (such as the Gregorian Calendar-previously we had the Julian Calendar; question: Has anyone wondered why our calendar starts in January, the month that is the number 11? It's because the names of the months were given in the Julian Calendar and the year started in March then), and about the purposes of some of the buildings (I liked hearing about the Vestal Virgins the most because I haven't heard much about this group of women). Antionette truly in love with the history and the city of Rome. Later when we all sat down to eat dinner we decided that she was hyper in her tour. She jumped from one thing to the next and kept us completely on our toes the whole time. Some things we learned about her include: that she is an Italian who's from Pennsylvania, she quit her job with the U.N., she loved the history of Italy and of Rome, she despised people who didn't bother to try to learn more, she despised the street vendors (called them creatures), she loved astrological signs (was excited to find out that Ahmee and Poppy were both Ares, and was astounded that I was a Pisces-she didn't think I was one), and she made money by picking up the tickets people threw down on the sidewalk to reuse the next day to get in to important buildings. She adored us, calling us the best sort of people (because we wanted to learn more-even if we hadn't gotten the tour with her we would've been looking up things in our book), saying that we were just magic, reiterating that Poppy was such a senator over and over again, talked mostly to Ahmee (we were following her every word and bringing in what we knew, me mostly from Shakespeare and a few other books), and at the end of the tour she flattered me quite a bit. Throughout most of the tour she was busy flipping through pages, pointing out things, and lost in her own words.
Ahmee and I were right beside each other the whole time and we both followed her the best we could and added in what we knew when we could. At the end of the tour we were walked out of the Roman Forum towards the Colosseum. At the end Antionette took a good long look at me and said that I was perfect, that I was statuesque, and that if I had lived back in ancient Rome I would've been a scribe virgin (if my parents were wealthy and if I had been 10 years old). Later as we walked out of the Roman Forum towards the Colosseum she asked me what my sign was and as I told her Pisces she exclaimed again that I was perfect, saying, "Wow.... You really are perfect! You're gorgeous! Sorry, sorry...." It was very flattering of her to say that I looked perfect. After Antionette showed us where to go, showed us where to get the tickets, and then saw us off on to the right bus, I began to wonder about her. Antionette was very different from other people. She had no qualms about letting her opinion come right out (called the street vendors creatures and skum and rushed away from them like they were insects), and she seemed so full of energy she didn't know which direction to put herself first (told you she jumped from one thing to the next). I decided that what she'd said about all of us was her true opinion, that it wasn't just her trying to advertise and make more money (which we all knew she could use).
She truly thought of Poppy as a Senator, she really thought the vendors were scum, and she really thought I looked perfect. As I ate my 8 lamb chops (don't judge, I was hungry from walking) I also decided that Antionette couldn't see the zits on my face, the bug bites, or the few flakes of dry skin because it was too dark. Nothing about me is perfect, but the dark managed to obscure things.
After eating dinner we walked back to the Piazza del Populo by way of the Via del Corso, a street that's known for it's shopping. We did what we do best: window shop, or in other words, educate our tastes. The few windows we got to look in we didn't gawk at for too long, we were all tired and wanted to get back to the hotel. Once at the train station we got to wait for a short period, road the train, got out, got to catch the bus, got to ride around on the bus for 30 minutes (missed our stop the first time and a nice lady helped us out), and then once we got to the hotel we got into the elevator (me exclaiming how fast the door shut, and Ahmee complaining about the loud speakers) and went to our room. Once there I did a bit of work, emailed people, and then went to bed.
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